The thinking that you
do about God is also the most important thinking that you will do during your
life. Why? It is simply because the thinking you do about God — His
reality, His love, His nature, His attributes, His Messiah, and His acts of
salvation for you in the past, present, and future — all have a direct impact
on your relationships with other people at this present moment (Proverbs
23:7).

Your thoughts about God
also will have a direct bearing on your future status. Your thoughts and
actions could even determine when you will be resurrected, whether (1)
at Christ’s Second Coming to receive your reward in the Kingdom of God, or (2)
with the remainder of humanity after the Great White Throne Judgment (as all creation shall be redeemed through Christ, Colossians
1:20). As the apostle Paul says, we should think and live
“… worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in
the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10, in context of verses 9–12). This is God’s work which He does
through us. Works that we do contribute nothing to our salvation,
but they directly impact the amount and degree of reward we receive in
God’s Kingdom. We all participate in the work God delegates to us as His
children:

“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Philippians 2:11–13

God the Father will
not give His glory to anyone or anything, unless He delegates that
glory. 2
God’s glory should not be tarnished by us through any form of idolatry.

“I am the Lord
[YHWH]: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to
graven images.”

Isaiah 42:8

In the “Introduction” to
his book 101 Bible Secrets, Dr. Martin wrote: “… the prime questions discussed throughout all
history have been ones involving theology. People are very curious to know about
God.” My computer dictionary has the first definition for
“Theology” as “The
study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions.” This definition is precise and correct. The only way
to study the nature of God is to receive revelation from God through His Word,
the Bible. Jesus Christ was the living Word of God. The Bible is the written
Word of God. 3

Idolatry in all its forms
is a great curse and a grievous error, so easily committed and unwittingly
entered into by human beings. However, Paul notes numerous times that idolaters
will not be present in God’s Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10:19–20; 2
Corinthians 6:16–19; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5–6). This
month’s article, “Idolatry -
The Curse of Religion,” discusses the beginnings of Israel’s idolatry at the time of
the Exodus.

Housekeeping

I continue to do internet
radio shows. The list of shows can be found listed under “Byte
Show Interviews” at
http://www.askelm.com/audio/index.asp. Other shows are in the works with
other hosts. Where appropriate the shows are cross-indexed with the
articles so you can read the material in the article while listening to the
program. The relaxed format with host Ms. George Ann Hughes of The Byte Show
gives ASK additional exposure on the internet, providing another dimension to
Dr. Martin’s research. On these shows I review my own research as well. The
radio shows are available as MP3 files that can be downloaded from the ASK
website to your MP3 player. These shows reach an audience around the world that
bring people to the ASK website for the deep spiritual teaching of the Bible
from Dr. Martin’s research.

Bequests

Keep in mind that ASK
gratefully receives bequests from estates, trusts, or legacies. However, it is
important that you let us know that you are leaving a bequest — in writing — so
we may properly follow-up when appropriate. We know that many of you appreciate
the work of ASK, and we are grateful that you keep us in your thoughts for the
future. However, remember always that family comes first:

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children: and
the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”

Proverbs 13:22

I hope you will consider ASK as those of
“the just” and that our efforts are worthy of consideration in your estate planning.

Receipts

Several of you have
requested a receipt for your 2006 contributions. If you still require one,
notify us and the receipt will be sent to you. ASK is a tax deductible
non-profit religious organization. You must request a receipt in order to
receive one. We do not automatically send yearly receipts.

Thank You

We are grateful to all of
you for your prayers, your comments, and for your contributions. With your
spiritual, enthusiastic, and monetary support we continue to produce the most
useful material possible on the ASK website and in print. Increasingly we are
reaching people around the world. We try to thank each of you personally for
every contribution you make to us. We pray that God’s blessings are upon you
all. We also hope that the material from ASK is also a blessing to your minds.
Know that you do indeed have our grateful thanks in a personal way for your
financial support for ASK to do this important job.

3
If you want to learn more about the Bible than you ever thought
possible, read Dr. Martin’s excellent book Restoring the Original
Bible (Portland, OR: ASK Publications, 1994/2004). This book is
available to be read online complete at:
http://www.askelm.com/restoring/index.asp. You will want to buy the
published book after reading several chapters. DWS